Assessing Septic System Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise Using a Hybrid Groundwater Modeling Approach - Beaufort County, SC
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Williamson, Duncan Ragan
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Beaufort County, South Carolina has been deemed as one of the most vulnerable counties in the country to climate change, especially with regard to sea level rise. Given its low-lying terrain, septic systems in communities throughout the county face significant vulnerability, not only to horizontal sea level rise but also to rising groundwater vertically. This is problematic for septic systems because of their dependence on unsaturated soil conditions to function properly. This vulnerability threatens the livelihood of communities situated here due to potential exposure to the harmful contaminants these systems aim to mitigate. Through the utilization of localized groundwater monitoring data, applied hydrogeological theory, geographic information systems (GIS), and advanced geospatial techniques, this project aims to model the groundwater and tidal inundation throughout the county and forecast which areas have the highest vulnerability to rising groundwater tables and tidal inundation due to sea level rise. Four communities were identified as being especially vulnerable to this threat and particular emphasis was placed on better understanding the groundwater dynamics in these areas. Data visualization products were developed that project present-day and future groundwater height, depth to groundwater, and septic system vulnerability from both a spatial and temporal perspective. These end products have a particular focus on the identified vulnerable communities; however, the end products span the whole county and have the potential to support comprehensive resilience planning efforts across the entirety of Beaufort County.